


call to motion

by DrowningInStarlight



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Chronic Pain, Developing Friendships, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ficlet, Gen, Paris arc, low charisma friendship, prompt fill: you're not a burden, this got too long for tumblr so. here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:48:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21889186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrowningInStarlight/pseuds/DrowningInStarlight
Summary: Zolf can tell something’s up with Sasha.
Relationships: Sasha Racket & Zolf Smith
Comments: 5
Kudos: 92





	call to motion

**Author's Note:**

> written from the prompt zolf & sasha, "You're not a burden." from anon!! This got. out of hand. _Enjoy!_
> 
> title from movement by hozier.

Zolf can tell something’s up with Sasha. 

Paris has been… a lot. The traumatic journey across the channel and to the actual city aside, Zolf knows Sasha’s not been having an easy time. The whole memory alteration thing, the mysterious hotel suite, the whispers of Brock that follow them around like ghosts. The ever present threat of the Simulacrum, and the frustrating lack of progress towards finding any more actual information. It’s been hard, for all of them. But this isn’t just that. This is something different. 

The job they’re on is simple. Just a bit of recon, really, nosing around after hearing some rumours of a secret robot factory in an abandoned mill. Zolf doesn’t think it’s likely that they’ll find anything, but they have time to kill and no other inviting leads, so. On they go. 

Sasha scales the building from the outside. Zolf and Hamid brave the rickety old stairs inside. Bertie says firmly on the ground, so he doesn’t break anything. Simple. 

“Found anything?” Hamid asks, as they join Sasha in the little office room. 

She shakes her head. “Check those drawers,” she says shortly. Hamid moves over to do so. 

Zolf looks at her. It’s easy to not see Sasha, normally. She hides under what you think she looks like, a vague imprint of dark leather and pale, smudged skin. But today she looks… tired. Drawn. 

She catches him staring, and he looks away without a word. He knows she won’t appreciate him asking when they’re in the middle of something, so he doesn’t. But he doesn’t forget, either. 

——

“Nothing,” Sasha says, pushing the last drawer closed. 

“Nothing here either,” Hamid adds. 

“Nor here. Reckon we were fed a local ghost story,” Zolf says. “Well, no point in staying here, is there?” 

Hamid shakes his head glumly. Sasha doesn’t respond, she just heads for the window she climbed in through without a sound. 

——

It takes no time at all for Hamid and Zolf to re-emerge at ground level. They hurry round the corner to see Sasha leaning against a wall, staring up at the sky, and Bertie indignantly trying to get her attention. 

When Bertie sees them, he asks “So did you find anything? The young lady here simply won’t tell me!” 

“No, Bertie, it was a waste of time,” Hamid says wearily. _“And_ I’m hungry now. Do you want to go get food, Sasha?” 

She shrugs. 

“I’ve heard there’s this lovely place not far from here,” Hamid offers, and Zolf suddenly realises this is Hamid also knowing that Sasha isn’t okay, and trying to take care of her in the only way he knows that she might accept. Gods, it’s been so long since Zolf’s had to learn a new crew like this, he’s out of practice. “I even think they do eel options, actually, I know that’s your thing!” Hamid adds hopefully. 

“No thanks, Hamid,” Sasha says. “Think I’m gonna go back to the hotel.” 

They all take that as a sign to start walking. Hamid strikes up some conversation with Bertie, and gives Zolf an emphatic look that Zolf didn’t need. 

He falls into step beside Sasha. “Hey, are you—” he begins. “Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine,” she says, glaring at the ground. 

“Because if you need to take a break—” 

She looks at him, a kind of muted hurt in her eyes. Zolf’s about to ask what’s wrong, when Bertie interrupts. Apparently Hamid hadn’t been quite engaging enough to distract Bertie from another opportunity to _put his foot in it._

“Indeed, as Mr Smith says,” Bertie declares, “Breaks are a marvellous invention. Nothing like taking a break to put the spring back in your step, and your step has been decidedly springless since we arrived. I’m sure we’ll do _quite_ well without you.” 

“I’m gonna, go—” Sasha says. 

“Sasha, wait—” Hamid says, but she’s already melted into the gathering twilight. 

_“Bertie,”_ Zolf growls. 

“What? Was it something I said?” 

“It’s _always_ something you said,” Zolf mutters, and hurries off after Sasha. 

—— 

Zolf finds her on the roof of the hotel. She hears him coming long before she sees him, so she doesn’t flinch when he joins her leaning against one of the huge chimney stacks, staring out over Paris illuminated. The city glitters now night has fallen in earnest. She focuses on that, rather than Zolf beside her. 

“You know that Bertie is, frankly, a piece of shit, right?” Zolf says, after a while. 

Sasha nods, realizes he won’t be able to see it, opens her mouth to speak, remembers he can see in the dark, and closes it again. 

“And he has no idea what he’s talking about. I was trying to say that you can always just— rest, if you need to. Don’t need to explain to me, or anyone.” 

“I’m alright,” she tells him, still looking out over the city. “Just. Hurts, sometimes.” 

“Anything I could help with?” 

She shakes her head. “Not that kind of hurt. Always had it. Barrett—” 

She feels Zolf change position next to her at the mention of the name, tense up a little. 

“—he’s not forgiving. If you have to, to stop or can’t do something right or any of that… I just kind of push through it. Get on with stuff, you know? But it’s been a tough— a tough few weeks.” 

“Yeah,” Zolf says soberly. “Listen, I get it, okay? I get similar stuff, with my leg and all, and if I don’t have my trident or whatever to walk with or— what I’m trying to say is, I get it. And we’re not Barrett.” 

“I know that,” Sasha says, because suddenly it’s important to her that he knows that she knows that. Hamid and Zolf aren’t like Barrett. They’re her friends. And even Bertie can be tolerated. 

“I just mean you don’t have to push yourself to breaking, Sasha. If you need to take a moment, you can tell us. Doesn’t mean we trust you to do your job any less.” 

“Alright,” Sasha says briefly, but she claps a hand on Zolf’s shoulder. “D’you think Hamid’s already gone for food?” 

“He mentioned ordering in, actually. And knowing him, he won’t have decided what he wants yet, so…” 

Sasha smiles at him, safe in the knowledge that the darkness hides it from everyone but Zolf.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr as drowninginstarlights!


End file.
